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Morris Peterson
Points: 32
Rebounds: 8
Assists:6
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| "They say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But if it's broke you've got to fix it," Mike James
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The Celtics shot 53 free throws and made 40.
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| Team |
RB |
ST |
BLK |
TOT |
| BOS |
38 |
6 |
4 |
48 |
| TOR |
42 |
11 |
4 |
55
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April 4, 2006
TORONTO (CP) -- The NBA season is coming to an end much the way it began for the Toronto Raptors _ they're still a young team with a knack for blowing games with silly mistakes.
The Raptors were officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 124-120 loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, ultimately giving the game away with miscues and foul trouble in the final minutes.
``It seems like tonight was the same story, different day,'' said Morris Peterson. ``We had the lead down the stretch, we didn't win.''
Pape Sow and Mike James look to stop Paul Pierce Tuesday. (Ron Turenne/NBAE/Getty Images)
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Peterson had 32 points and eight rebounds to top the Raptors (26-48). It was their fifth straight loss. Mike James added 25 points, while Matt Bonner had 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
With eight games to go in the regular season, the Raptors will miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season. They finished 33-49 last season.
``We can't hang our heads and say this was a lost season,'' said Peterson. ``I think, if this team continues to grow and play with the core guys that we have, I think in the future we can definitely make the playoffs.''
Late foul trouble cost Toronto dearly, the rattled Raptors blowing a seven-point lead when Wally Szcerbiak converted a three-point play that sparked a Celtics parade to the free-throw line. Boston scored 14 points on foul shots in the final 3:15. They shot 40-for-53 from the free throw line on the night.
``We foul too much,'' said coach Sam Mitchell. ``How are you going to win the game?
``We haven't committed one foul in practice. I referee every scrimmage, I call fouls, and they haven't committed one foul in practice, but we commit them in the game.''
Mitchell was seething over his team's inability to follow instructions in failing to call a crucial timeout in the final minute.
``We just came out of the huddle,'' said the frustrated Mitchell. ``I had said, if they score, we're going to call a timeout.''
Will the players eventually figure it out?
``Either they will, or we'll find some people who will,'' said Mitchell.
James tied it with 1:18 left on a running jump shot, but that was as close as the Raptors would get to the dismay of the Air Canada Centre crowd of 16,598. It was a decent turnout considering the Blue Jays were at home against the Minnesota Twins in their baseball opener at a sold-out Rogers Centre a few blocks away.
James bristled at the suggestion his team gets rattled down the stretch.
``You can't get rattled on the court, you don't even deserve to be on the court,'' said James. ``This is the NBA _ no babies allowed.
``If you're on the court, and you're nervous and you're scared to perform as hard as you work every day in practice, then you shouldn't be playing this game. You should be taking up chess or something like that.''
Paul Pierce and Wally Szczerbiak scored 22 points apiece to lead the Celtics (31-43), while Raef LaFrentz added 20.
``I don't think you're going to draw art from this game at all,'' said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. ``It was not a beautiful game in any way.''
Rookies Charlie Villanueva and Joey Graham had 14 points apiece for Toronto. Graham fouled out late in the game.
Despite missing star forward Chris Bosh, who may be out the rest of the season with a sprained thumb, the Raptors outrebounded the Celtics 42-38. But the Celtics shot 54 per cent to Toronto's 44 and hammered them at the free-throw line. Toronto went to the line just 28 times, making all 28 attempts.
Peterson had 13 points in the first quarter and the Raptors went up by nine points, but Boston battled back with an 11-2 run and the game was tied 31-31 at the end of the quarter.
Bonner had 11 points and eight boards in the second, but the Celtics shot 56 per cent in the quarter and led 63-61 at halftime.
Boston stretched its lead to 83-72 midway through the third, the biggest lead of the game, but Toronto battled back outscoring the Celtics 19-6 to the end of the quarter, and led 90-89 heading into the fourth.
NOTES: The Raptors signed guard Andre Barrett for the remainder of the season, and for 2006-07, although it's not guaranteed. Barrett had six assists, two points and one rebound in just under 10 minutes Tuesday. . . The Raptors are at Indiana on Wednesday then play New Orleans before returning home to play Charlotte on Sunday.
